iPhone OS Lead Belies Rise of Android, Says Quantcast

Apple's iPhone iOS led the market with nearly 59 percent of mobile Web consumption on iPhone and iPod Touch devices in May. Google's Android notched roughly a 20 percent OS share for May, followed by 10.9 percent of "other" operating systems and 10.4 percent for RIM's BlackBerry OS, according to the latest data collected by industry metrics firm Quantcast. But Android is making some steady gains on the iPhone and other platforms. These figures prove there is momentum for Android, which is saturating the market with myriad devices.

Apple's iPhone iOS blew all mobile operating systems away
with nearly 59 percent of mobile Web consumption on iPhone and iPod Touch
devices in May.
But Google's Android operating system is making some steady gains on the iPhone and
other platforms.

Android notched roughly a 20 percent OS share for May,
followed by 10.9 percent of "other" operating systems and 10.4 percent for RIM's
BlackBerry OS, according to the latest data collected by industry metrics firm
Quantcast and made available June 14 here.

Android, which has seen the Motorola Droid, HTC Droid Incredible and HTC Evo 4G smartphones launch to varying
degrees of success since November 2009, has taken market share from Apple's iOS
and the rest.
Android took 1.3 percent share from its rivals from April
to May, 4.6 percent in the quarter from March to May and 12.2 percent from May
2009 to May 2010.
Quantcast, which calculated its figures by counting the
share of page views from mobile devices, said Android took 4.7 percent market
share from iOS for the quarterly numbers and 8.1 percent year-over-year.
"This is not the same as the number of devices,
however we believe that the ability to easily browse the Web is a key leading
indicator of the long term position of the various platforms," Quantcast
said in its blog post about the stats.
These figures prove there is momentum for Android, which has saturated the market with some 60 devices.
However, Apple has sold more than
50 million iPhones, including almost 9 million in the previous quarter. Nielsen puts iPhone's share at 28 percent of the
U.S. smartphone market, tripling Google's own 9 percent.
Moreover, Apple's iPhone 4 goes on sale June 24, paving the way for
the company to boost those iPhone unit shipments.
It wouldn't be inconceivable for Apple to crack double
digits for the quarter, selling 10 million iPhones between the now-discounted
iPhone 3GS and the iPhone 4.
This battle will play out over time and the mobile OS
platform war only starts with smartphones. Expect a new front in the battle
between iOS and Android to open in the tablet market. Quantcast did not include
the iPad in its mobile OS numbers.
In selling 2 million-plus units in 60 days,
Apple's iPad is already raking in money and plaudits.
Android tablets are sprouting up everywhere. Verizon is building an Android tablet with Google,
while Dell's Streak is coming to the United States next month. Samsung
is building a tablet now, too.
Of course, there is also Google TV to consider in the future and
whatever Apple decides to do on that front to answer Google.